Government safety regulations govern the specifications of military explosive devices. Among other things, current safety regulations for military explosive devices include at least the following two requirements. First, all explosive devices must be safe from inadvertent functioning in non-operational and operational environments. Second, explosive devices must be capable of self destructing either commanded or un-commanded to reduce the hazard of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Details of these requirements are contained in specifications MIL-STD-1316E, STANAG 4187 and STANAG 4404. Conventionally, certain types of explosive devices may include safe and armed (S&A) mechanisms or other types of fuzes to comply with these requirements. S&A mechanisms may include relatively simple safety mechanisms or sophisticated, programmable, target discriminating safety mechanisms.
A conventional S&A mechanism has much of its functionality controlled by sophisticated micro-electronics. These microelectronic components may detect environmental factors that affect the S&A mechanism and may select the components of the explosive device that are activated. Such conventional detecting and activation mechanisms have been used, for example, to activate explosives only upon impact of a particular type or level.
Other conventional S&A mechanisms are relatively large and are controlled by commensurately large mechanical, electro-mechanical, or electronic mechanisms. For example, such conventional S&A mechanisms may be electrically connected via a cable to remotely located controllers, sensors, power sources, and other electrical components. These S&A mechanisms have been used in explosives such as bombs, artillery shells, mines, missile warheads, and other devices that may have less stringent size and/or weight limitations.
The relatively large size and complex interconnections of these conventional S&A mechanisms tends to make them cumbersome and expensive. Explosive devices that have more stringent size and/or weight limitations cannot use such conventional S&A mechanisms, but instead require smaller, less complex and less expensive S&A mechanisms. For example, a countermine weapon for neutralizing one or more mines in a target area includes many smaller projectiles that each contains an explosive warhead. Such projectiles may be smaller even than conventional S&A mechanisms but are still required to individually comply with the safety requirements described above. Firing these countermine weapons deploys the projectiles, which spread out to cover the target area. Accordingly, it is not practical for individual projectiles to be connected with cables to a central electrical controller. Moreover, the S&A mechanisms for each projectile need to react differently in response to the type of impact, e.g., with a mine, with sand, with water, etc.